More than six years after the first "Battle of the Bay" event went down in August of 2008, KOTD is back with one of the biggest cards in the event's history. Spanning two days and more than a dozen battles, "Battle of the Bay 7" goes down tonight (Jan. 22) and tomorrow in Oakland, Calif.
Speaking with BattleRap.com about his expectations for this year's card, Lush One also broke down some of the most memorable moments from the Grind Time-turned-King of the Dot promoted event.
"It's an honor to be able to continue this legacy," Lush said."It's something that originally was conceived by Kyle 'Avocado' Gray, one of the greatest innovators in the visual side of battle rap. At first we just literally wanted to throw a dope battle event with a bunch of our friends so we just brought 'em together."
After so many years, Lush also hinted that this year's two-day card may be one of the most consistent ever: "The number one thing I'm excited about, beyond the fact that [Mistah] F.A.B. is on the card, going against Ars who is a Battle of the Bay vet, is that if you look at the card, not just Day 2, both days, it is no bodybags. The most evenly matched, great matches that I've seen in battling in a long time."
Speaking on the main attraction battle between Arsonal and Mistah F.A.B., Lush gave the I Found My Backpack emcee props for his history in the culture.
"I think F.A.B. has done more actual battles, not just imaginary battles in a mythic parking lot with 8,000 gangsters there [than] all these other mainstream rappers say that they've but no one's really seen except for a handful of people. F.A.B. actually has documented footage...He's gonna do great. It's just a matter of is it gonna be enough to handle Da Rebel who has 'never lost.'"
Read up on the full BOTB7 card on BattleRap.com here.
Lush One Details BOTB Milestones
From the West Coast battle debuts of rappers like Arsonal, Aye Verb, and Calicoe to the first multi-day card ever, Lush One recalled for BattleRap.com some of the biggest milestones for the BOTB brand in its six-and-a-half year history. Check out his favorite stories from the iconic West Coast event below.
"Everybody from Aye Verb's first [West Coast] footage on YouTube to Hollow's first battle that hit a million views to Arsonal's first battle on the West Coast. Calicoe's first battle on the West Coast. T-Rex's first battle on the West Coast. Conceited's first battle on the West Coast. All of that occurred on this stage."
"'Battle of the Bay 3' was the first time in this entire era that a multi-card battle event — and you could do your history, this is the beginning of 2009 — was the first event in history to charge money at the door for a battle rap event for YouTube with multiple cards on it." The price? $10.
"'Battle of the Bay 4' was the first time we incorporated a rapper known from the Fight Klub, SMACK DVD scene, which was Arsonal. It was the first juxtaposition of one of those rappers with a Fresh Coast rapper. It was completely bringing different worlds together."
"'Battle of the Bay 5' which happened in September of 2009, people looked at that at the time as the dopest card ever. It was the first-ever two-day card. No one else was doing two-day events at that time."
"In 2013, after a four-year hiatus, we brought 'Battle of the Bay' back under the context of King of the Dot. Before it was under the Grind Time umbrella. Now we're with King Of The Dot. It beautifully upheld the legacy. There were new stars introduced: Bigg K broke out at the event, Danny Myers, Rum Nitty broke out at the event."
Which battle is the most promising on this year's card? Let us know what you think in the comment section.
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